Ziger (German), Sérac (French) or Ricotta (Italian), is a group of

fresh cheese There are many different types of cheese, which can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as: length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of the milk, and country or region of origin. These criter ...

s produced in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Ziger is nationally widespread as it is the by-product of the manufacture of hard

Swiss-type cheese Swiss-type cheeses, also known as Alpine cheeses, are a group of hard or semi-hard cheeses with a distinct character, whose origins lie in the Alps of Europe, although they are now eaten and imitated in most cheesemaking parts of the world. Their ...

s, such as Gruyère and

Emmental The Emmental (, ) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming. The ...

. Made of

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard c ...

, it is rich in proteins and it is historically a

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

in the Alpine regions.

History

Ricotta Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...

production has been documented in Italy back to the Bronze age. The name "ricotta" ("boiled again") refers to the use of whey that remains after the production of cheese; the whey is acidified and boiled again and the proteins still contained in the whey (lactoglobulins; casein is no longer there) coagulate and precipitate as curds. The French term ''sérac'' or ''séré'' is mentioned among other cheeses in a Gruyère document dating from 1312. In

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, it is mentioned in a document from 1437. This appellation, however, might have been associated with another type of fresh cheese which was not a by-product but a domestically made cheese. The

Schabziger Schabziger () or sapsago is traditional cheese exclusively produced in the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Schabziger is made out of skimmed cow milk and a special kind of herb, blue fenugreek ('' Trigonella caerulea''), also called blue melil ...

, from

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, Ziger is known as ''Ricotta'', ''Mascarpa'' or ''Zigra'', and it has been produced there at least since the late Middle Ages (but, as written above, ricotta was produced in Italy since the bronze age). In the Val Bedretto (

Leventina The Leventina District is one of the eight districts of the largely Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The capital of the district is Faido but the largest town is Airolo on the southern flank of the Gotthard Pass. Situated to ...

), eating lunch is called ''züfé'', literally "eating fresh ricotta", an expression that indicates the monotony of the diet of the mountain dwellers in the past.

Production

It takes about 40 liters of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

to produce one kilogram of Ziger. Today whey is obtained after curdling the milk using

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease, protease enzyme that curdling, curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, su ...

and selected lactic acid bacteria. It is then heated to around 90 °C. The precipitation of whey proteins is obtained by lowering the pH, or by adding acid (lactic, acetic or citric). The solid parts are then collected using a strainer and poured into pierced molds in which the product will be left to drain and, therefore, to firm up. The product is ready to be sold the following day. File:Zigerherstellung Ballenberg 1.jpg, Traditional artisanal manufacture of Ziger at

Ballenberg Ballenberg is an open-air museum in Switzerland that displays traditional buildings and architecture from all over the country. Located near Brienz in the municipality of Hofstetten bei Brienz, Canton of Bern, Ballenberg has over 100 original buil ...

museum. The whey is first heated to 90°C. File:Zigerherstellung Ballenberg 2.jpg, After

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

is added, cheese curds form and are removed with a wooden pail. File:Zigerherstellung Ballenberg 3.jpg, The curds are poured into pierced molds. File:Zigerherstellung Ballenberg 4.jpg, They are then slightly compressed and left alone for about a day, after which the cheese is ready to be eaten.

Use

Since Ziger has little taste, it is generally sprinkled with salt and pepper, whether it is eaten fresh or fried. It is also used in bakery, notably for Zigerkrapfen, which are fritters filled with a sweet and flavored Ziger filling. These are made since the 18th century and are particularly popular in central Switzerland.

References

External links

Ziger on SwissMilk (German)
{{Whey cheeses Swiss cheeses Whey cheeses

History

Production

Use

See also

References

External links